Lads-Gala combo to keep all brands

Ladbrokes and Gala Coral will continue to operate all three core brands should the proposed merger between the two UK giants transpire, eGaming Review has learned.

Gala Coral COO Andy Hornby, who also leads the operator’s interactive division, yesterday emailed staff to assure them a merger with Ladbrokes would not result in the disappearance of the Coral and Gala brands.

“Both brands (Coral and Ladbrokes) will continue on the high street and all three brands (Coral, Gala and Ladbrokes) will continue online as part of the combined Group,” Hornby said.

“We intend to use the combined strength of our brands going forward,” he added while stressing that talks between the two parties were still at a “very early stage” with no certainty a deal would take place.

His comments should kill any speculation a merger would see Coral rebranded to Ladbrokes, which is widely regarded to have the stronger brand in the key UK market.

However, a senior director at an international gaming firm told eGR that Ladbrokes and Coral would be making a mistake should they decide to keep the Coral brand active.

“For me, keeping Gala make sense, but I don’t see the point in keeping the Coral brand,” he said. “You’ve got to assume that the Ladbrokes brand equity is better than the Coral brand equity, and in gaming brand is king,” he added.

News of a potential merger, which would create an online firm with revenues of approximately £400m, was first revealed on Monday evening, with both Ladbrokes and Gala Coral yesterday confirming the talks.

Gala Coral CEO Carl Leaver yesterday told staff a merger, which would be a reverse takeover of Ladbrokes, could be an “exciting development” however added that any deal would likely take up to 12 months to finalise with approval from the UK Competition Authority likely to be required.

Meanwhile, Ladbrokes this morning announced it was to axe its international management team with international MD Damian Cope set to leave the firm.